Centrifugal machine



V. REDLICH CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Filed May 4. 1925 3 Shee'bS-Shee' March 27, i928. ,663,731

v. REDLICH CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE `Filed May IL, w25 3 Sheets-Sme*L 2 Vl Ref/la Mahdi, 27,

V. FEDliC- CENTRIEUGM., MACHINE Filed. may 1L. 1925 5 Sheets-Shea?. 5

if@ w se 12, la j'. Y/

Patented Mar. 27, 1928.y

UNITED STATES VICTOR REDLIC'E, OF VIENNA, AUSTRIA.

GENTRIFUGAL MACHINE.

Application led May 4, 1926', Serial No. 106,735, and in Austria May 19, 1925.

Centrifugal machines of the type in which the liquid andthe solid material are automatically and continuously 4delivered are known. The solid material is delivered through openings in the sides of a non- 'perforated drum by means of a wheel having compartments which rotates in an annular channel of the said drum at a different velocity to thelatter, the liquid being caused to leave the drum by being guided radially inwards and downwards and thereupon ejected.

The Apresent invention has for its object to provide a centrifugal.machine, in which the liquid and solid material are delivered autoniatically and continuously one after the other at different points of the wall ofthe same drum, which for this purpose surrounds the drum provided with compartments, hereinafter referred to as the cell drinn, in the form of a perforated drum, the liquid being thrown .out through the meshes of the perforated drum against a non-perforated receivin Wall which guides it outward and the solid material throu` h openings in the perforated drum and tie said guiding Wall.

When using the centrifugal machine in the manufacture of sugar where the fine liquor or other liquid has to be fed in and the various liquids have to be separated, an important feature is that the cell drum (cleansing drum) shall be made in the form of a grid of a certain form, the construction of the fixed outer Wall also being an important feature.

In the accompanying drawing Figs. 1 and 2 show a constructional example of a centrifugal machine for use in the manufacture of sugar, Fig. l being a vertical axial section on line C-D of Fig. 2 and Fig. 2 a transverse section on line A-B of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 to 5 show details.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section on line 6-6 of Fig. 7, partly shown in elevation.

Fig. 7 is a cross section along lines 7-7 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a view in end elevation thereof. In the example of the invention shown in` Figs. 1 and -2 of the drawing, 1 is a perforated drum, 2 a non-perforated wall surrounding the drum and connected to it for catching the liquid and guiding it downwards, 3 .the cell drum (the expulsion drum) and 4 the stationary surrounding wall.

PATENT oFFIcL For automatically and continuously v livering the solid material after it has been' freed by centrifu al action from the liquid;y the drum l and t e surrounding wall 2 are' provided, as shown in the drawing, with; two oppositely located vertical or inclined slots 5, which extend almost over the. whole:y height of the same, the cell drum 3 rotatingl in the same direction as the perforated; drum l but at a different speed, which difference may in most cases `be very smalLy For this purpose a transmission gear ofja. known kind, which is not shown in the draw# n ing, is provided for transmitting the motion from the shaft 6 of the cell 'drum 3 to the hollow shaft 7 of the perforated drum 1 or vice versa, so that the cell drum will rotate at a slightly lower or slightly high speed than the perforated drum. The ho v low shaft 7 is driven by-means of beveled? gear 30 from the/shaft 3l. Fixed on thel hollow shaft 7 is a transverse arm 'which 4. has on one end a worm 33 and at the other end a balancingA weight 34 for the worm. The worm drives a worm gear fixed on the 80. shaft 6 and carries on its axle 36 a fixed star wheel 37 which in the common rotation of the two shafts 6 and 7 engages with a tooth a fixed 'or stationary inclinedsurface 38, where it is turned around its axis by such an/angle that in thenext rotation the next Atooth becomes engaged, and so forth. The

consequence is that in each rotation of both shafts the shaft 6 is rotated relative to the shaft 7 by a certain angle, thereby the advanced movement or retarded movement of the cell drum 1 relative tothe screen drum 2 is effected. Furthermore, as the cell drum 3 is designed for carrying, the solid material in the peripheral direction, being for instance made in the form of a grid with grid openings lying next to one another or one above the other exactly or approximate- 1y radially, the solid material, from which the liquid is continuously removed by centrifugal action, is moved, since the perforated drum rotates at a given speed, con-` tinuously and slowly to a slot 5, which each point on the cell drum reaches after a. certain period oftime, so that the solid material is continuously delivered by centrifugal force tothe stationary surrounding wall 4, from which it is mechanicall removed at 12 around the entire perip ery.

If the solid material is to be moulded, the 110 unshaded portions of the grid, that is the cells, are adapted to the size and shape of the product to be made, for instance, when the centrifugal machine is used in the manufacture of sugar, to the size of the cubes of sugar to be made.

The liquid which has been separated from the material passes through the perforated drum 1 against the non-perforated wall 2 from where it is removed downwardly through the inclined arrangement of the said non-perforated wall or under the action'of gravity and can run off along the inclined bottom of the pan 13 at 14. The annular space between the drum 1 and the surrounding wall 2 may be divided up by substantially vertical walls 15 into segments, from which the liquid runs down in separate streams to the fixed pan 13. By this subdivision a relative rotation of the liquid with respect to the drum is prevented.

The material to be centrifuged is fed continuously by means of an arrangement which rotates at the velocity of the perforated drum 1 to that portion (segment) of the cell drum 3, from which previously the solid material was removed. In the example shown in the drawing this arrangement consists of -a central feed pipe 16 which is connected in a suitable manner, for instanceby a spider 17, to the perforated drum 1 and therefore rctates with the same. The pipe 16 has longitudinal slots 18 having about the same height as the drum, from which longitudinal slots extend substantially radial, narrow channels 19 of uniform width and of the same height as the drum, which may extend as far as the cell drum 3. A fixed feed pipe 27 Opens into the pipe 16.

This arrangement acts in the following manner:

Let it be assumed that the drums 1 and 2 and consequently the feeding means 16, 19 rotate at a certain speed in the direction shown by the arrows in Fig. 2 and that the cell drum 3 which rotates in the same direction, has a slightly greater speed of rotaj tion. The solid material will then be ejected continuously at the slots 5 to the' width of the segments corresponding to the same out of the cells. of the drum 3, the segments which have thus been emptied creeping, ow-

ing. to the slightly higher speed of rotation of the drum 3, in the direction of the arrows with respect to the channels 19,

through which the empty segments are filled with material to be treated under the action of centrifugal force. The end of the chan-- amarsi.

uid through the velocity at which the drum rotates and are gradually fed to a second slot 5, through which they are removed.

ln clntrifugal machines it is frequently required to feed in continuously one or more liquids, for instance ir. the manufacture of sugar the fine liquor or thelike. 'lhe liquids are fed in by means of one 0r more devices which are similar to the feeding device for the material to be centrifuged, rotating at the same speed as the perforated drum, but displaced with respect to the said device in the direction of rotation. ln the example shown in the drawing a pipe 2() surrounding the pipe 16 is provided, which is connectedi t0 the pipe 16 and consequently to the drums 1 and 2, with which it rotates. 'lhe pipe 20 is provided with a stationary feed pipe 28 and with longitudinal slots 21 of approximately the same height of the drums l and 2. Communicating with the said longitudinal slots are substantially radial, narrow channels 22 of the same height, which lead to the cell drum 3, but are displaced in the direction of rotation with respect t0 the channels 19, so that first the material to be centrifuged by itself and thereupon thefhle liquor is fed to the emptied d-rum segment in a layer of as uniform a thickness as possible.v ln accordance with this displacement both the material t0 be centrifuged by itself and the said material after being supplied with the fine liquor has time to be thrown out by itself by centrifugal force, which makes it possible to catch two or more runnings separately in the surrounding wall 2 and to lead them away which is effected by the Walls 15 already described, which divide the intermediate space between the drums 1 and 2 into segments. It is then only necessary to provide means for catching the liquids in separate, stationary containers. As is shown by way of example in Fig. 3 in vertical section on the line E-F of Fig. 4 and in Fig. 4 in horizontal section on line G-H of Fig. 3, the segment of the surrounding wall 2 which serves the purpose of leading away one of the liquids has an' outer wall 2, which is at a greater distance from the centre than the wall 2 of the segment which serves to lead away a second (or other) liquid, so that the liquids flowing down along the walls 2' and 2 are caught in separate stationary containers 13 and 13 respectively and are lead away separately, which makes it possible to deal separately and therefore economically with two (or more) liquids.

When the cells of the cell drum 3 have the form and size of sugar cubes, the centrifugal machine may be used for the production and delivery of the finished sugar cubes, which will then only require drying. Care must then be taken that the cells shall be completely filled as accurately as possible, which may he effected by provision being made for the cell drum 3 to have a suitable s eed relative to the feed channel 19, by the c annel 19 having a suitable width with respect to the dimensions of the cell and by means of the scrapers 19. In order that the cubes of sugar shall not be broken by hitting against the stationary surrounding Wall 4, owing to the centrifugal force with which they are thrown against it, they are retarded when being thrown out by suitable guiding walls in a suitable manner. As shown in Fig. 5 in vertical section through the slot 5, stationary guiding walls 23 are provided, which extend completely round the machine and'form channels 24 which arecurved or inclined with respect to the horizontal direction of delivery. As will be seen from this figure a delivery channel of.this`fkind may be provided for each horizontal row of cubes coming from the cell drum 3. The effect of these channels is to prevent the cubes from striking against vertical walls and to cause them to be deflected as gradually as possible from the direction in which they are thrown out, whereby the velocity of the cubes is gradually retarded. The cubes can leave the`machine in an inclined outlet 25, which is common to all the channels. Horizontal guiding walls may be provided in the slots 5 of the drums 1 and 2 at the level of the horizontal walls of the cells and at the beginning end of the-Walls 23, for the purpose of guiding the cubes of sugar when thrown ou The guiding walls 23 may also follow the direction in which the cubes are thrown out, that is they may be horizontal, as is shown in dot and dash lines at 23. In this case the friction of the cubes against the Walls has the desired retarding eifect. The cubes will then drop down against the wall 4', after which they can be removed.

What I claim is:

1. A centrifugal machine including a. cell drum, a feeding device for the material to be centrifuged, a perforated drum surrounding said cell drum and covering the cells at the circumference, a non-perforatedwall surrounding the perforated drum and connected to it so as to leave an annular space therebetween, the perforated drum and the Wall having openings for delivering the solid material, means for rotating the two drums ata different velocit the liquid 'passing through the meshes o the perforated drum against the non-perforated wall which catches it and guides it outward and tion of rotation of the cell drum with respect to the feeding device for the material to be centrifuged. y

4. A centrifugal machine as claimed vin claim 1, wherein additional walls are arranged in the annular space between the perforated drum and the non-perforated wall -to subdivide the same into segments.

5. A centrifugal machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein additional walls are provided in the annular space between the perforated drum and the non-perforated wall for subdividing the same into segments and said separated segments having walls of different radius for guiding the centrifuged liquids into different outlets.

6. A centrifugal machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cell drum forms a grid with separate cells lying next to one another and over one another.

7. A centrifugal machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cellsof the cell drum have the dimensions of the nishedproduct which is to be made.

8. A centrifugal machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein stationary guiding walls assi are provided for each horizontal row ofthe articles moulded in the cell drum, for retarding the velocity at which the said moulded articles are thrown out, so as to prevent .their being damaged.

9. A centrifugal machine as claimed in claim 1', characterized by the provision of stationary guiding walls foreach horizontal row of articles moulded in the cell drum, for retarding the velocity at which the said moulded articles are thrown out, 4and the guiding walls being inclined with respect to the direction of delivery of the drums.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

VICTOR REDLICH. 

